You Take It All Away And Now I Want It Back
by AniraAi
Summary: Akina, so she shall be called, has appeared on the banks of Konoha, muttering possedly in a forgein language. She does not know where she came from or why she is here, and she really doesnt want. But sooner or later the past beings to haunt us all.
1. Intro A Man Named Hokage

**You Take It All Away  
**_(And Now I Want It Back)  
By J. Anira_

_Rated for possible strong language (me love my profanity OwO)_

_Tittled because... I felt like tittling it that. O.O_

**A/N:**_ Something posses me to put an author's note at the top of this page, not sure what, but I wanted to warn you guys before you get to far. If you are looking for romance, THIS IS PROBABLY NOT YOUR STORY. You know how it is, Naruto, the manga or anime, there's so much going on, who has room for snogging *slaps self (one to many HP fics)* I mean KISSING and such. As it stands, this story is a remix of the original plot, acording to the anime. Its only becsause I'm one of those active watchers who comments on everything they see. -_- annoyed the hell outta my friends at the Order of the Phoenix movie. XD  
ALSO, I am not what you call "responsible" so I cannot promise a strict publishing schedule, or more than one more chapter I already have typed and ready to be perfectionated by my CDO self (dad's an accountant and you KNOW those people are OCD). So if that will annoy you to the point you send me hate mail, then HURRY CLICK THE BACK BUTTON NOW!!! If not, stay! Have a muffin! Enjoy your 600 some word into..._

"What's going on? Why did you wake me up at this-"

"We found someone. She was wandering around the river, muttering in some foreign language. She really freaked this old lady out."

"Has she said anything recognizable?"

"No, I don't think she understands us."

"Huh… This can't be good."

'_Idiots',_ I thought sarcastically. '_Of course I can understand you.'_

"I'll go see if I can talk to her."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

I heard the door slide, but I did not make a move to see who had entered; I stared straight ahead, sitting cross-legged on the floor with my hands tied in front of me, not thinking of anything, but thinking of everything at the same time. It was a strange feeling, to be thinking in such a way. I wanted to savor it. Take comfort in it, because at the edge of my mind I sensed something was wrong.

An elderly looking man moved into my line of vision, sitting on a chair across the room from me.

After staring at me for a few seconds, he spoke, "Who-"

"I'd appreciate being untied, Mr. Hokage," I interrupted, drawing him up short.

He raised his aged, white eye brows, "You can speak o-"

"I can speak your language, yes. Quite fluently…I think..."

"Hmm" he said, scratching his beard in thought. "Where are you from, young lady?"

_Ouch_. I looked down at my still tied hands, thinking. I tried, straining with the effort of searching my blank head. "I don't know," I whispered, slightly hoarse.

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking at my tired, dirty-feeling face with intense curiosity.

"I can't remember. I know there is somewhere I have lived. I know that there is more to my life than this, that I existed before now. I had a family…parents… but I can't remember them," I whispered, the words scratching against my suddenly dry throat angrily. How long since I'd had a drink? I couldn't even remember that. How pathetic. "I remember… training for… something… And a commotion… And blood… Yes there was definitely blood."

I looked up to see the eyes of the old man had not grown wide, as my own had, but he remained relatively expressionless, stroking his small, white beard. I looked back down, slightly embarrassed by my lack of information.

"I can't remember my name… But… I remember…something…" Strange hand poses began popping in quick succession though my head. One after the other, so quickly I had no time to register them. It bothered me.

I did not notice it at first, but when my eyes began to focus on my hands, I realized I was making the symbolic movements in my running through my head with my hands. "This..."

"They are seals," said the man who was, as far as I could tell, named Hokage, which I found to be a very odd name.

"Seals…" I muttered.

"Go on, then," he urged.

I sighed raggedly," I had friends, and class mates an-" My eyes widened as a mental picture flashed through my mind; a girl's head, separating from her body so quickly that it looked as if she had simply blown apart. It was so vivid that it seemed, for that split second, I was there behind the girl, watching this take place. I screamed, and buried my head in my still bound hands, gasping for air.

_'Stupid,'_ I thought. _'Baka, idiot, ni bu shi nao ren…'_

"God," Hokage breathed, showing the first real sign of human emotion yet. "What has happened here?"

"Gone," I muttered, furiously whipping a tear away before it started rolling down my grimy cheek. "They're all gone."

**A/N: **_I know I really enjoy these in the stories I read, you might not, but you can expect them because I feel the need to explain a lot usually. It comes from slef confidence issues.  
BUT ANYWAY, review should you feel the urge, I hope you enjoyed you muffin, and, if you do reveiw, tell me what you think of my into tittle? I'm on a mission to pick out the most insignifigant thing in any chapters I post for this and tittle them with this small thing as the subject. I dunno why, I just do, so... yeah...  
Last thing, if your feeling confused... you should. My fanfics are confusing. But trust me, I have it all out in a neat little.. thing in my head up to a certain point, so NEVER FEAR.  
This is really the last thing, the other was a faker. Like I said, this is basically a remake of the original plot, but with my imagination the plot is BOUND to change around a little. So allow me some wiggle room, please, and be paitient.  
_**HAPPY EXAMS**  
(you know you enjoyed that refrence to the hell that is every high school student's own personal hell at the moment)


	2. Chapter 1 Well, She Likes Food

**You Take It All Away  
**_(And Now I Want It Back)_

**Chapter 1  
**_(She Likes Food...)  
_

* * *

"_For now, you'll be known as Akina, and you will be registered as a ninja under our village. You will go on missions, until such a time that your memory is recovered or you can return home."_

That morning the sun shone bright down on my new home, a thing that felt almost blasphemous with me in such a dark mood. I had not slept at all. The picture of the headless girl had haunted me into the late hours of the night, and even when the vivid picture had faded, the memory of the gore still burned into the back of my eyelids.

"Akina-san, you have an Explanatory Meeting today." The sweet voiced floated through the door, just as it had every other morning for the past two weeks since I had taken up residence in the kind civilian's home. I had taken their test, registered, the whole bit. I did not understand why they had accepted my presence here so easily, but something told me to just accept it and be grateful. I had flawlessly remembered every technique and history they had asked, but things like my name and village were a blur, which annoyed me to no end; what good were techniques if I did not know what village to protect? The only clear thing I could remember of my past was the girl, her head flying from her shoulders, and who wanted to linger on that?

I dressed in the clothes they had given me, a red top that wrapped around my middle and tied on either side like a gi and a pair of red pants that had a drawstring at the hem so I could shorten them or lengthen them to my preference. I consistently kept the hem of my pants just above my calves and the sleeves of my top rolled back to my elbows, a practice that was not about to change this morning. I also tied back my semi-long hair, raven black with an unexplained streak of baby blue down the front right side, in a low ponytail with a bit of blue string that had also been provided. I let my hair swing back and lightly brush the middle of my back while I examined myself in the mirror for a few moments; I was not tall, but I was not short either. I could not say I was just right, but disproportionate would not be a good word to describe me either. My shoulders curved down dramatically after only three or four inches from my neck, which was unnecessarily long and led up to a round face. I had high cheekbones, but my face was not bony so they were not especially prominent. My nose was rounded and my eyes just the same, not narrow like most of the people I had seen, which made me feel slightly misplaced. I had full lips, just big enough to compliment the rest of my features. My eyes were the color of trees in spring; a semi-bright green that seemed to intense to hold anyone's gaze for long, even their owners. Overall, I looked very colorful, standing in front of the mirror, and I did not know how to feel about that fact.

I starred at the forehead protector they had given me. Obviously, it was to be worn on one's forehead, but I didn't really feel like putting it one, afraid I'd seem stupid. Instead, I shoved it in my pocket, and walked brusquely out the door.

The walk to the meeting was not a long one, so I did not bother hurrying. Though, while I was walking, two girls nearly ran me over in their hurry; they were running shoulder to shoulder with angry looks on their faces, kicking up dust behind them as they raced down the path. I had to duck to the side to avoid them. A couple people shouted after them angrily, but I saw no reason to since they both seemed so intent on their race, they probably did not even hear. Their speed did make me wonder if I should hurry, but in the end, I just kept walking at my normal pace, a little more anxious than before. I just hoped the girls did not hurt anyone too badly, and that I did not arrive too late.

Eventually, the meeting place loomed in front of me, only then did the nerves make themselves truly known, flipping repeatedly in my stomach. I gulped convulsively.

I grasped the door handle, and quickly jerked it open; the sight in front of me almost made me laugh.

There was a group of girls crowded together in the middle of the room, while almost everyone else sat in various seats away from the commotion. The girls were so thick I could not see the object of their bickering, but they looked like they were about to break into a fight, so I figured it had to be something important.

I hesitated in the doorway, but then inspiration struck; I was new, so what did it matter what people thought of me? I had a feeling that I did not want to be friends with many of these girls anyway, if they fought so easily and so early in the morning.

Squeezing quickly in between the tight pressed bodies, I found the source of their argument quickly; a bench seat. Confused, I sat down and looked innocently up at the closest girl. At first, she glared at me, but then her face softened to confusion.

"Sorry," I mumbled, looking down at my hands. "Did you want this seat?"

"Yeah… but that's okay. I can sit… here," she muttered, folding into the seat in front of me.

I studied the girl for a moment; she looked familiar to me, somehow. Her hair had a pink tone to it that made me question my knowledge of normal hair colors, not to mention genetics, and she wore a red dress that was split at thigh on either side to reveal a pair of tight black pants that only reached to her mid-thigh.

Then it clicked; she was one of the girls who nearly ran me over in her race this morning. The realization almost made me laugh.

I looked to the crowd of girls again only to find they had more or less dispersed. In their place, though, was a spiky-headed blond boy in an orange outfit that I had no words for, not glaring at me, but looking slightly confused.

"Uhm…" I tried, waiting for him to speak.

"That's my seat," he said, boldly, unlike the other girl, who turned to glare at him.

"Sit somewhere else, Naruto," she snapped.

"B-but I was here-, " he blushed, looking down at his feet.

_Aw! Poor guy!_ I thought. "Here, I can scoot over."

He nodded at the now open seat, and sat down quietly, without any further qualms.

"They're going to hate you for that," said a flat voice beside me. I turned slowly to see another boy, dressed in mostly blue with a cynical look glazing over his dark blue eyes. He stared straight forward, his hands folded over his mouth and his elbows rested on the desk. The way he held himself emanated seriousness, which made me very nervous.

I gave him a confused glance. "Are you the object of interest, then?"

He glanced sideways at me, the cynical look intensifying, and sighed, "Yeah."

I nodded. The boy was relatively good looking, so I could see why so many girls were interested in him, but to be so open about their feelings was as good as emotional suicide.

It was at this time, I felt a pair of eyes boring into the back of my head. I turned, feeling uncomfortable with being stared at, and was meet head on with a pair of pupil less blue eyes.

I raised my eyebrows; I had never seen eyes like that. "Hello," I said.

The girl had been leaning forward over her desk so far that her long platinum blond hair hung over the edge, almost in my face. Now she pulled back, crossing her arms and frowning at me; I found myself hoping I had not made an enemy out of this girl.

"I haven't seen you around before," she stated.

"I would not have expected you to," I said. I had finally recognized her as the other racing girl I had seen this morning.

"When did you get here?" she asked.

"Eh… two weeks ago," I said, wondering why she even cared.

"Ah, that explains it, then."

"Yeah," I dragged out.

Her face suddenly softened as though she sensed my nervousness. "So, what's your name?"

"I—. " It took me a minute to remember and I sighed, "Akina."

"Huh. I'm Ino," she said. "You must be from another village."

"Uh-huh," I nodded.

"Which one?"

"I do- er… that is…" What should I say? _'I do not remember. Sorry.'_? What would she think of me then?

_'Freak, that's what they'd think. You'd become a pariah on your first day in public,' _I scolded myself.

One eyebrow rose above the girl's strange eyes and I gulped.

"She's from the Country of the Wave. Everyone knows about her, Ino," the boy next to me cut in. I could only look down, stunned.

"Really?" Ino said, sounding like she doubted it through the two octaves her voices raised. She had probably been in the mob of girls as well.

"Er… yeah," I muttered. Luckily, a man with a scar across his nose called the class to order then.

"Starting today," he began with a huge smile on his face. It almost felt sarcastic, but given my situation, I was not surprised. "You are all official ninjas, but you are all still new Genins. It's going to get harder from here."

Okay, I could handle that. It had not been hard enough, as far as I was concerned, but I had not had to go through what those around me had, or even remember what I myself had experienced, so how would I know?

"You will all be in a group of three, where you will accomplish missions under a Jounin teacher."

_Hum…_ I thought. _Why three? That's an odd number. It sounds like their asking for trouble with that._

"I wonder who's going to be in Sasuke-kun's team?" Ino said from behind me. Somehow, I did not think she was talking to me, but I turned to look up at her anyway. She was staring at the girl in front of me.

I noticed the girl stiffen out of the corner of my eye. "I do not know."

I glanced at the boy next to me; that must be Sasuke. He did not seem to be paying attention at all to these taunts, though he was the cause. He clicked his tongue thoughtfully and a bead of sweat rolled down the back of my head.

_Nope, not listening._

Everyone else in the classroom seemed to be in deep thought.

_I do not know any of these people_, I thought sourly. _I wonder whom I will get…_

I glanced at Sasuke. _I am sure he is talented, considering the way girls flock all over him, surely his looks are not everything, but his seriousness makes me nervous. I would probably just screw up a lot if I had him on my team. Therefore, I do not want him. Let me think… Ino and this girl might not be any good either; too competitive to work cooperatively. Then the other person next to me… Naruto, was it? Eh, I do not know anyone else at all so I cannot make any other assumptions. I guess I will just have to see._

"We've arranged the groups so that overall abilities are equivalent. I will now announce them."

As he went through the list, I was helpless to figure out who he was talking about, so I let my mind wander, still partially listening for my name. I picked absentmindedly at the dirt under my nails; it was an obsessive-compulsive habit of mine. I could not stand have dirt under my nails.

As my mind wandered, I finally realized who the person at the front of the classroom was; he had been there for my exam to become a ninja. I was supposed to call him Iruka-sensei.

I also took the time to glance around the room, curious about the forehead protectors. Most had it tied around their forehead, but some had it in creative places, like the girl with short black hair and pupil-less eyes, who had hers tied around her neck. She was also giving Naruto a shy stare, on which I made a mental note. Apparently hormones flew here. I'd have to be careful where I stepped, and on whose toes.

"Group five," Iruka-sensei called. I was not paying to much attention, so I did not hear the first two names, but I did hear the last: "…and Lixing Akina." I swiveled my head up to look at Iruka-sensei, but he had already moved on. I sighed, wondering who my teammates were.

I nearly screamed when Naruto jumped out of his seat yelling, "Yeah!" I looked around me to see the girl in front of me looking slightly depressed. Sasuke still had his hands folded in front of him.

"...And Uchiha Sasuke." I watched his face closely for any change, but he remained expressionless.

_Unnerving, that is the word,_ I thought with a shiver as the girl in front of me jumped out of her chair just as Naruto, who was now looking depressed himself, had done.

_This place is weird, _I thought, raising an eye brow. Maybe I could understand Sasuke's detached nature from this environment.

"Iruka-sensei!" I jumped at the exclamation from Naruto; I had zoned out again. "Why is a top student like me in a group with this guy?!" He was pointing at Sasuke.

"Sasuke graduated with the highest scores. And you, Naruto, had the worst scores."

Everyone broke into laughter and I giggled with them; Naruto thought much to highly of himself, it seemed.

"This happens because we want to evenly divide abilities between the groups."

"Don't pull my leg, blockhead," Sasuke said calmly.

"What did you say?!" Naruto yelled.

"You want to fight, blockhead?"

"Blockhead?! Why you-"

"Stop it, Naruto!" the girl in front of me yelled, spinning around to give Naruto a death glare.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, sitting back down."

_Oh yeah. They will have fun together, _I thought sarcastically.

"I'm going to introduce the Jounin teachers in the afternoon. Meeting adjourned until then."

Almost immediately, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around to see a pair of kind blue eyes and the most genuine smile I had seen in my entire life. Actually, that is an unfair assumption, so I take it back.

"Hi! I'm Mingzi!" the girl said. I looked her over quickly, and smiled back; she had a thin frame, but emanated a strength that made me think she was not as weak as she seemed. Light brown hair streaked with natural-looking blonde that hung down in her face and partially covered one eye framed her features while the rest hung down over her shoulders. She was wearing a netted shirt under a blue v-neck top with lighter blue trim around the neckline and a short blue skirt that only reached mid-thigh on her. Her right leg was wrapped in white tape, but her other leg was bare; this confused me a bit, but I did not ask. She wore her forehead protector sideways on her forehead, so that underneath the sheet of hair it would cover her eye.

_So odd…_ I thought.

"Er… hey. I'm Akina."

"Yeah! I know. This is Shenme," the girl jabbed a finger behind her at a girl with dark eyes and an unusually solemn expression, even though she was smiling. The rest of her features were dark as well; dark skin, dark hair, and dark bags under her eyes. Yet, her clothes were quite bright; a purple shawl covered most of what she wore, the ends of which reached down almost to her fingertips. All I could see of her legs was covered by black netting. I noted that her forehead protector was tied around her ankle, which seemed quite an odd place to put it.

Everyone here was so different. The people were a spectrum of personality and color. It almost gave me a headache, but at least it was interesting. Being bored seemed impossible.

"Hi… Shenme," I waved gingerly, and Shenme's smile widened.

"So, you figure out who we are yet?" Shenme laughed.

I looked down, feeling a blush spread across my cheekbones. "Uhm... No, not really."

Shenme broke into laughter. I felt like banging my head into the desk I was so embarrassed.

"Huh?" Mingzi said, confused.  
"What? You didn't see her zoned out? She nearly jumped when Naruto yelled about being on the same team as Sakura-san!"

_Observational, aren't we?_ I thought sarcastically.

"So did you!" Mingzi laughed. I heard her hit Shenme in the arm.

"Well… yeah, but that's not the point!"

"Fine." I looked up to see Mingzi staring at me again. "We're your new teammates."

"Oh! Right. I should have known," I laughed and smacked my hand against my forehead. "Sorry about that." Then I scratched the back of my head nervously.

"It's fine," Shenme said, waving a hand in front of her dismissively.

"Anyway," Mingzi said, slapping her hands on the desk. I looked up to her face to see she had suddenly grown serious. "What do you think?"

"About the teams?" I asked, a bit disarmed by Mingzi's sudden switch from lighthearted to dead serious.

"Yeah. I mean, why three?" she asked me.

I shrugged. "How do we know they're even trying anything? Maybe they are just trying to condense the kids so they only have to deal with ten as opposed to thirty."

Shenme shook her head. "That can't be it. There is a reason for everything. Nothing just happens."

I grinned; I could tell I would like these girls. "Okay fine. Let us say there is a reason. Three is an odd number so that makes it difficult if two people like each other more than the other person, right?"

"I don't think it's coupling they're trying to prevent," Mingzi said thoughtfully.

"How do you know they're trying to prevent anything at all? Maybe they're promoting something."

"Equality?" I offered.

"Nah, but I think that's on the right track, I bet…" Shenme said.

It was quiet for a few minutes in the classroom as we thought. Everyone else had left while we talked so we were very alone in our conversation. The quiet was almost eerie.

"Well," Mingzi suddenly exclaimed, making Shenme and me jump. "I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat."

"You eat too much Mingzi," Shenme muttered while I shuffled out of the bench seat.

"Eh? You don't eat enough!" Mingzi laughed.

We went outside to a nearby park to eat. As Mingzi chomped on two rice cakes and Shenme and I nibbled on ours, we talked about random things, and they tried to teach me everyone's names. It worked pretty well; I found out the girl in front of me was called Sakura and that every girl in the school had a crush on Sasuke, but I already knew that. I tried to tell them he gave me the creeps, but they would not buy it, so I gave up quickly. I found out that the two girls had been friends ever since they were little. This information made me feel slightly misplaced, but the way the girls flawlessly accepted me almost eliminated the feeling completely.

Almost.

There was still a nagging suspicion that I did not belong here eating away at the back of my mind. But if not here, then where? I could not even remember, therefore, this had to work. I had to find a way to feel comfortable here. I had no choice. At least until my memory returned.

But… what if it did not?

What if it was permanently lost and all I would ever remember was that unpleasantly vivid picture of the headless girl?

No, I would not consider that. My memory **would** return. Then I could stop mooching off the civilians of Konoha and return home.

When Shenme and I had finished our food, Mingzi all but dragged us back to the classroom.

"Energetic, isn't she?" I whispered to Shenme.

She rolled her eyes, "Just wait; it get's worse."

Upon entering the classroom, we found that everyone else had already returned from lunch. We took the only seats left, a bench at the back of the room, and the girls tested me on how well I could remember everyone's names.

We were going through for the third time when someone in the front of the classroom called, "Team Five!"

Shenme flew out of her seat, down the aisle, and to the side of the woman at the front of the class before Mingzi and I could even blink. She was an average looking woman with a round, but not fat, face and average form. The thing that caught my attention about her, though, was her hair; it was platinum blond and seemed to shine in the fluorescent lights of the classroom. She turned shocking blue eyes on Mingzi and me, who were still in our seats, and we both stiffened automatically. Then she smiled.

I closed my eyes and sighed in relief; she had scared me to death with that icy glare.

"Shenme!" Mingzi yelled, shuffling out into the aisle and pointing at her teammate. "What is WITH you?!"

"Shut up and get down here, baka!" Shenme yelled.

I grinned and slipped into the aisle after Mingzi and we joined her down at the front of the room.

She smiled at us again. "I'm Megumi, your new Jounin teacher."

Shenme nodded, but Mingzi and I continued to stare at the woman. Her blond hair clung to her scalp in a complicated looking pattern of swirls while the rest of her hair hung down her back in a long ponytail. She wore her forehead protector straight on her forehead, unlike some people. She almost seemed normal. Except for her eyes. And her hair.

She stared back at us for a few seconds before sighing. "Geeze. You guys are quiet."

Mingzi laughed next to me. "Sorry."

Megumi-sensei shrugged. "That's okay. I'll get used to it."

"Don't get to comfy with the silence; once Mingzi gets going she won't stop," Shenme muttered. Mingzi glared at her and I laughed.

I felt a pair of eyes on me, and I turned back to Megumi-sensei to see her staring at me intensely. I sucked in a shallow breath and she broke the stare, releasing me.

_What was that?!_ I thought angrily.

"Well, we need to get going. I'll learn your names when we get to our destination," Megumi smiled, but her glare had already done some damage; there was something wrong, and it made me very uneasy.

We followed Megumi-sensei through the winding paths in the village until we reached the rocky bank of a stream on the outskirts. Megumi-sensei plopped down on a large rock by the stream and smiled at us once again.

"Take a seat. I'll start by learning your names."

Mingzi was the first to volunteer her name: "I'm Genrei Mingzi," she said, pointing to her chest proudly.

Shenme went next. "And I'm Yaori Shenme."

Megumi-sensei then turned her eyes on me. Her stare did not become cold, so I spoke: "My name is Lixing Akina."

"Ah, all lovely names," Megumi exclaimed, closing her eyes happily. "My full name is Hue Megumi. Now, tell me something about yourselves."

A bead of sweat rolled down the back of my head; she was treating us like kindergarteners.

"Uh… Like what?" Mingzi asked.

Megumi-sensei shrugged. "Whatever you like."

"Uh… well, I…" Mingzi seemed to be having a hard time.

Shenme laughed and slapped Mingzi on the back. "Mingzi-chan likes food."

"I do no-! Well, actually…"

I laughed with Shenme at the blush in Mingzi's cheeks.

"And what do YOU like Shenme-san?" Megumi-sensei asked.

Shenme blushed and looked down. "I…er…well, that is…"

Mingzi smirked evilly at Shenme, who jerked her head up and glared at Mingzi.

"Don't you dare," she warned.

"Shenme-chan likes-"

"DON'T EVEN TRY IT!!!"

"Shenme-chan likes Ki-"

Shenme pounced on Mingzi, covering her mouth with her arm. "SHUT UP, MINGZI-CHAN! I DO NOT!!"

I laughed, and backed away from the two before finishing what Mingzi had started: "Kiba-kun?"

Shenme glared at me and I laughed at her enraged expression. "What? I honestly do not think Megumi-sensei is going to run off to Kiba-kun and tell him or anything! Just relax, Shenme-chan!"

Shenme looked around warily, making me laugh harder. "The trees have ears," she muttered.

"Mumph!" Mingzi yelled, struggling under Shenme's weight.

"Shenme-san! Get off Mingzi-san!" Megumi yelled through her bell-like giggles.

"Hai, sensei!" Shenme said, jumping off poor Mingzi.

"She's liked him FOREVER. I can't believe he never noticed!" Mingzi laughed, whipping at her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Why did you guys refrain from telling me this earlier?" I asked, still giggling.

Shenme blushed, "It never came up."

"'Cuz if it had I definitely would have told you," Mingzi laughed, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Alright, then. Mingzi-san likes food, Shenme-san likes… Kiba-kun," Megumi-sensei stated. "What do you like, Akina-san?"

I felt three pairs of eyes on me, and I leaned back on my elbows in thought.

That was a very good question. I liked the color and flavor here. I liked knowing the names of the people around me. I liked Mingzi-chan and Shenme-chan. I liked the kind woman who was letting me stay at her house. None of these things seemed to fit the answer just the way I wanted, though. I really had no idea how to answer.

"_I_know what Akina-chan likes," Mingzi whispered giggling a bit at the end.

I snapped my head to the side to look at her maniacal expression.

I did not even know the answer to this question. What did she think I liked then?

I raised an eyebrow and she continued: "Sasuke-kun."

The stare I gave her was slightly shocked, and a bit angry. IT would be hard to tell that I was struggling to hide the twitch at the edge of my mouth, the one I did not recognize as a valid reaction. "…the hell?" I asked, confused.

"Hey!" I did not have time to turn to look at Megumi-sensei, who had been the speaker, because a small rock hit my forehead with enough force to knock me backward a bit. "No cursing in my presence!"

"Ouch…" I muttered. "Uhm… Gomen, Megumi-sensei."

"I want to talk to you afterwards, Akina-san," Megumi-sensei said. I did not have to look to see the ice in her eyes this time.

"Hai, Megumi-sensei," I said quietly, putting a hand to my forehead. After a moment, I pulled my hand down to look at it; a little spot on my palm was red with blood.

"Well, we're almost done here, but," Megumi-sensei paused. "Make sure you're here tomorrow. We are going to be doing a special mission. Something we can all participate in."

"Already?" Shenme asked.

"Well, it's more of a… training session. Just don't eat breakfast, girls. And get here _early_," she stressed.

"What?!" Mingzi exclaimed. "Why can't we eat anything?!"

"Trust me; just don't eat anything," Megumi-sensei enthused. "You're dismissed, you two."

I looked over at Mingzi and Shenme to see them glance at me, then walk briskly back to town. Not that I could blame them; Megumi-sensei seemed like the kind of person to who could whoop my sorry backside back to ninja school with the flick of a pinkie finger.

I looked back at her to see her staring at me again. I gulped.

"So," she said, standing up. "You're the girl who has the Hokage so worried."

**A/N:**_ Hi again! Or should I say, NI HAO! For a your information, I am a Chinese fanatic. I take the class in school and though my speaking and writing skills are quite limited (I can do everything from intoduce myself to saying what my friends and family member like) I do plan on using then throughout this story. That's what the random insult in the Intro was. Chinese. Tee hee...  
Shenme and Mingzi's names are also chinese (in a Japanese setting *sigh* I know, it makes no sense). Here is the basic break down of what thier names mean;_

Shenme; what

Mingzi; (first) name (part of a question)

Aka-blood/red (Japanese, this is the begining of Akina's name, its pretty obvious why)

Li- plumb (the begining of Akina's given name, its technically a chinese surname, but it also means plumb. I chose it because I liked it, not because it was relavant)

Xing- last name

_The rest I dunno about. I can't remember where Mingzi and Shenme's last names came from, but I do remember I found Magumi-sensei's online somewhere...  
I am almsot half way through the 2nd chapter (I have a 4,000 word minimum ;)) so be watching for that? I mean, I wrote this FOREVER ago, like October maybe. So, be afraid. But since we have exams right now, I need some place to be creative (math exam=NO CREATIVE SPACE), this is where I decided to randomly do that (at 2:30 in the morning the night of math exams...-_-)  
Alrighty then! I am done rambling, so ZAI JIAN, NI DE PENG YOU!!! (goodbye my friend)_


	3. Chapter 2 I Welcome the Challenge!

**You Take It All Away  
**_(And Now I Want It Back)_

**Chapter 1  
**_I Welcome the Challenge!_

* * *

**RECAP**

"_You're dismissed, you two," Megumi-sensei said, waving my two friends, now teammates, Mingzi and Shenme, away from the creek._

_I looked over at them in time to see them glance at me, then walk briskly back to town. Not that I could blame them; Megumi-sensei seemed like the kind of person to who could whoop my sorry backside back to ninja school with the flick of a pinkie finger._

_I looked back at her to see her staring at me again. I gulped._

"_So," she said, standing up. "You're the girl who has the Hokage so worried."_

**BEGIN**

I started, "W-w-huh?" I did not know anyone was worried about me, especially the Hokage. It made me feel somewhat… special.

But only a little bit.

"Yeah," she bent down to pick up a rock from the bank. "He doesn't know what to think." She observed the rock for a minute, before tossing up in front of her face, and plucking it from the air with her other hand. "Some girl just shows up on the edge of the hidden village of Konoha and she knows every seal and rule expected of a middle class Chuunin. He doesn't talk about it, but anyone can tell it's got him worried."

"Oh," I looked down at the rocky ground around my legs. "I am sorry."

I had not known I was _Chuunin _level. So the Hokage was worried about me, or, rather, my presence, and I was as knowledgeable as a medium level Chuunin. So far I was pretty happy with were this conversation was going. However, that could not be expected to last long, considering the icy glares I had been picking up from Megumi-sensei.

She laughed. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Akina-san." She looked at the rock for a few more seconds, before she threw it across the creek. It skipped three times and I saw Megumi-sensei's mouth turn down at the corner. "If you've lost your memory, you can't really do much about it."

"I did not mean to worry anyone," I said softly.

"I know. No one blames you. But…"

All of the sudden I felt something cold pressed to my neck and the warmth of a body next to me.

Fast.

"If you are lying to the Hokage or you know anything… If you endanger this village," Megumi-sensei pressed the kunai harder into my throat, putting more emphasis on her words. "I will kill you."

"I… I am telling the truth! I honestly ca-"

The cold metal of the kunai suddenly disappeared from my neck. I took a shaky breath through my mouth and looked up at Megumi-sensei.

She was smiling again. This time, it seemed genuine.

"I'm sorry, Akina-san. I had to make sure. I won't have any spies on my team."

She reached out her hand and I took it. She pulled me to my feet and looked me in the eye. "But do not forget this day. If you let off even the slightest hint that you are not one hundred percent loyal to Konoha, I will fulfill my promise."

I gulped again; there was not an ounce of humor in her eyes.

I walked slowly away from the bank, trying not to show my alarm in my movement, but when I turned a corner on the path, I started sprinting; the sooner I got away from Megumi-sensei and her kunai, the better.

I did not know what to think about this. Maybe I should not worry; there was no one else to be loyal to, so there should be nothing to worry myself over.

Right?

This knowledge did not help me at all. My hands, balled up into fists, still shook as I ran. What if I did something unintentional and Megumi-sensei just decided to kill me? But, how could you unintentionally betray an entire village? Looking at this logically, I _should not be worried_.

Nope; my hands were still shaking.

I was paying absolutely no attention to where I was going. It was no surprise that I hit someone.

"Eep! Ah… Uh… Gomen! Go-"

I cut off mid-sentence when I saw who I had bumped into; Shino.

"-men," I muttered, bowing. "I… was not paying attention to where I was going… Shino-san."

He stared at me wordlessly for a moment, then pushed his glasses up on his nose. I stared back, determined not to be the one who broke the silence, and also wondering if he should apologize to me as well. Probably not… It didn't look like he planned on it, anyway.

I sighed finally, seeing I would have to be the one who took action. "See you, Shino-san," I said, spinning on my heel and heading the other way.

Once I turned the corner, I met Mingzi head on. Eh, sort of. She was across the street so it was close enough.

"Akina-chan!" said a high, excited voice from across the street. Mingzi was waving vigorously at me while Shenme stood still at her side, smiling, but also seeming a bit grim; she was frowning deeply and her arms were crossed over her chest.

"Oh! Hey… Mingzi, Shenme," I laughed, scratching the back of my head. "I thought you guys went ho-"

"What?! No! We couldn't sleep without making sure Megumi-sensei didn't murder you!" she laughed quickly, speeding across the street with Shenme right on her heels. "Just tell us what happened!"

"What… happened?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "What did Megumi-sensei do to you?" She took in my confused expression, and sighed. "For cussing, baka."

"Oh!" These girls were obviously under the impression that was why Megumi-sensei had kept me late.

_I wonder how much they know about me…_ I thought.

It could not be much, all things considered. Therefore, I figured I could get away with a lie.

"She just lectured me about cursing," I shrugged. "I will have to watch it I guess."

"Uh, yeah!" Mingzi said, laughing and hitting my forehead with the flat of her hand.

"So, I will see you guys later, I guess?" I asked, glancing at Shenme. She had not said a word; her silence made me a bit twitchy.

"Yeah, tomorrow," Mingzi said, taking in my expression, and then glancing back at Shenme herself. Something in her own expression changed and she waved at me, muttering something under her breath to Shenme. I waved back, but they already had their backs to me.

_Odd_, I thought, before I to, turned around and headed back to my temporary abode.

The next morning, after slipping out of the house and NOT eating breakfast, as instructed, I met up with Shenme and Mingzi beside the creek were we had meet with Megumi-sensei earlier.

For once, Mingzi was not being her preppy self.

"Foooooood," she moaned, grabbing my shoulders and looking into my eyes with a panic-stricken expression. "I… neeeeeed food," she moaned.

I looked at Shenme, who was standing behind her with her arms crossed over her chest again, blankly staring to the side so I only saw her profile, frowning. "Shenme?"

Shenme looked at me, her eyes a bit unfocused. "Huh? Oh," she snapped up suddenly, raising a head to her temple. "Sorry. I'm a bit tired today. Late night." She glanced at Mingzi, who was hanging off my shoulders pathetically. "That happens when she goes more than two hours without food."

"How does she sleep?" I asked, working one of Mingzi's hands off my shoulder. She had a pretty good grip for a "starving" person.

"She keeps junk food by her bed at night. You should see it; she wakes up like clockwork every two hours. I timed her." Shenme look very proud of herself for this, as her expression changed to one of smug pride.

"Kudos," I said, finally seceding in prying Mingzi's hand from my garment. "Now, help?" Mingzi was looking hopelessly droopy now, and I was afraid she might faint any moment.

"Just drop her," Shenme said with a shrug.

I shrugged as well, and with the movement, Mingzi's hands fell limply from my shoulders and she dropped down to the ground.

"Oh," I said, staring at her; she almost looked lifeless. "That's… not normal."

Shenme laughed, and the sound brought me up short; Shenme had not been in a particularly good mood ever since last night when I had bumped into them after my forced meeting with Megumi-sensei, and I had a feeling it had something to do with me. "She'll be fine in awhile. I hope."

"Oh," I said, sitting down next to the currently lifeless body of Mingzi. It took a lot of willpower not to press my pounding head to the cool rock that dug into my bare calves; it was a warm morning, it being the middle of summer, but since it was so early, the sun was just rising, thankfully not adding to the already mild morning. Not only that, but the creek area was surrounded by trees, blocking out the majority of any sunlight that would have reached the clearing otherwise. The coolness of the shadows felt nice to my tired body and pounding head.

With a sigh, Shenme sat down next to me. "Where do you think Megumi-sensei is?" I asked, letting the words simply slip from my mouth with hardly an effort to stop them.

"Dunno," she said, rolling her head back to let it hang from her shoulders as she faced the sky, eyes closed.

"Sigh," I said with a loud exhale. "She better not still be-"

"Asleep?" said a voice, recognizable as Megumi-sensei's, from across the creek.

Mingzi, Shenme, and I all jerked our heads to the side, after which Shenme raised her hand to her temple once again, muttering "Ow" under her breath. Mingzi, on the other hand, was suddenly full of energy.

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD," she screeched, lunging from her laying position on the ground and flying, literally, across the creek.

My eyes zeroed in on the wrapped package in Megumi-sensei's hands; it was indeed food, Bento Boxes to be more exact. I was not in particularly hungry as of yet, I never ate breakfast because I always seemed to forget, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Shenme lick her lips.

Megumi-sensei lifted an arm, swatting Mingzi to the ground and away from the Bento Boxes with that one quick movement.

"No," she said sternly, while smiling. It was quite a strange combination.

"THEN WH-"

"There's only two, Mingzi," Shenme pointed out, glancing at me, then staring intently at the boxes.

Megumi-sensei held the boxes up in one hand, like an angler with a good catch. "These are rewards."

"For?" I asked, rising up from the ground and leaning down to rub my claves, indented by the rocks far enough away from the creek to still be sharp.

"You'll see." It might have just been me, but I swear I saw a twinkly in her eye before she turned and motioned with her other hand for us to follow her.

Mingzi cried out brokenly from the ground, extending an arm after sensei, while Shenme and I exchanged nervous looks, before stepping, in my case, or leaping, in her case, across the dribbling creek. We each took one of Mingzi's arms across our shoulders and ran, well, not really a RAN, more of a fast paced walking speed, after Sensei, who had disappeared into the trees.

At some point, Shenme stopped.

We had been following Sensei for at least ten minutes when Shenme gasped and stopped dead in her tracks. Since Mingzi's body, an arm around each of our shoulders, connected us, I had no choice but to stop as well.

"Shenme!" I hissed, nodding my head in the direction Megumi-sensei had gone.

"I just got it!" she hissed back at me, a slightly crazed look in her eyes.

Resisting the urge to back away, I asked, "Got what, Shenme? What is there to get?"

"Its teamwork!" she said, raising her voice to something above the hissing we had been doing earlier.

I raised an eyebrow at her and let my shoulders slump with Mingzi's weight, mostly on me at the moment. "Huh?"

"Oh, drop," she said, swatting Mingzi off me. "This whole… three person…" she gestured to herself, Mingzi, and I. "…thing. They want us to _work together_."

A sweat drop rolled down the back of my head as I stared at Shenme. "Isn't that kind of cheesy?"

"NO!" Shenme yelled. "Seriously! The way of the ninja is supposed to be a lonely one, stereotypically. However, when ninjas are sent out in missions, normally, a platoon or a group is sent, considering they have a higher chance of success in most cases than a single individual does."

"She's got a…point…." Mingzi said from the ground, pushing herself up on her knees.

"So they're teaching us… how to be a team player," I said slowly, testing out the idea.

"I think so…" Shenme said thoughtfully. "Either way, whatever we're doing, we HAVE to stick together. Watch each other's backs and stuff."

"Yeah," I agreed, and then turned my eyes on Mingzi, who was sitting of her knees looking up at us. "You gonna be okay, Mingzi?" I slapped her shoulder lightly, testing her steadiness.

"Sure, sure. The sooner I get my hands on one of those boxes the better."

Shenme snorted. "Good luck. I'm afraid of Megumi-sensei just by LOOKING at her. I can't imagine FIGHTING her. I mean, did you see her hit Akina in the head with that rock? OUT OF NOWHERE."

"Tch, and it freaking HURT, man," I whined, rubbing my forehead melodramatically.

"BAHA!!!" Mingzi said, dragging herself up from the ground and raising a fist to the sky. "I WELCOME THE CHALENGE!!!"

"Someone's awake now," Shenme and I muttered together, but Mingzi was completely oblivious to us, as she breathed heavily, her fist still raised in the air.

"Alright, Mingzi!" Shenme yelled, grabbing her first and jerking it down to Mingzi's side. "We aren't leading the Crusades!"

"THIS IS THE NARUTO WORLD BAKA!!! WE DIDN'T HAVE CRUSADES!!!" Mingzi yelled.

"NO ONE CARES!!!" Shenme yelled back.

"GUYS!!!" I screeched at them, my voice breaking slightly. They both turned to stare at me and I blushed. "Whoops."

"Baha, puberty moment?" Mingzi said, beginning to walk.

"Yeeeeah," I said slowly, wringing my hands in embarrassment.

And with that, we sped off after the long gone Megumi-sensei.

Eventually, we heard Megumi-sensei's voice, which was quite a good thing since we really had no clue if we were even going the right way.

"GIRLS!!!" she yelled, somewhere ahead of us. We exchanged looks, and picked up our pace to a full out run. By the time we reached the clearing in which Megumi-sensei stood, we were each panting heavily.

"Finally," she muttered from the center of the field.

"PAH!" Mingzi panted, putting her hands on her knees.

I raised my hands up behind my head, opening up my airways, and closed my eyes to rest for a few moments.

When I opened my eyes, Megumi-sensei still stood in the center of the swaying field of grass, staring at us. I glanced over at Mingzi and Shenme, who had regained their breath, just as I had, and were staring with serious expressions at Megumi-sensei. I dropped my hands from my head, and did the same.

"You done?" she asked, sounding a bit skeptical.

We all nodded our heads in union.

"Good," she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Then I can start explaining, and we can eat all the sooner."

"YE-" Mingzi started, but was cut off with a slap. I turned my head slightly to the side to see Shenme with her hand over Mingzi's mouth.

Megumi-sensei's eyebrows rose at them, but she didn't say a word. Instead, she pulled something out of her vest pocket and held it tight in her fist.

"Now," she started. "Like I said before, this is something we will all be able to participate in. But, we won't necessarily be on the same side." She paused, gauging our reactions. I had tensed slightly at her words, but now I was trying to keep the confusion from showing in my expression.

If Shenme was right and they were trying to promote teamwork among the groups, this exercise partially made sense. However, considering there were four of us, the only way to even the playing field was to divide us into two teams. If that were the case, then one of the students would be set against the other two, which would have the opposite effect of promoting unity. So, what was the point here?

"This… is your objective."

With a small ding two small objects dropped from Megumi-sensei's hands, hanging in midair in an almost taunting matter; bells.

"You are to take these from me."

Oh.

Now I got it.

"Hold on a second," Shenme said. I turned, surprised by this; Shenme had not questioned our sensei as of yet. It was slightly out of character. "Two bells, two bento boxes. Megumi-sensei, what's going on?"

Sensei smiled at Shenme with a grin that was fringed with mischief. "The two bells and the two boxes, represent the two of you who will leave this place as Genins."

It was silent as we each took this in. I heard one of my teammates shift her weight onto the other foot behind me, that's how deep the silence was.

Before Mingzi broke it.

Quite in character, I might add.

"WHAT?! B-b-but we already graduated to Genins! This isn't right! There must be so-"

"There's no mistake," sensei said seriously. "Only two of you will be moving on as Genins. The other one will return to the academy, with wishes for better luck next time."

Suddenly, I felt a pair of eyes on my back. I turned my head slightly to the side to see Shenme staring at me intensely, accusingly. And she did not turn away when I looked into her eyes; she stared at me head on, as if daring me to reprimand her.

"The first two to get the bells, wins their Genin-ship. The other," she gestured to a grouping of logs on the far side of the field. "Will be tied to one of those logs while the others eat in front of her."

"That's torture for you, Mingzi," Shenme said, beside me now. "You better be sure to get a bell."

"CHA, YEAH!!!" Mingzi said, on my other side. "One of those bells is as good as MINE!!!"

As Mingzi yelled, Shenme whispered to me, "The plan still stands."

Plan?

Oh, the teamwork thing. Right.

However, the stare Shenme had given me earlier was weighing heavily on my nerves as Mingzi began to calm down.

"Any questions? No? Okay, BEGIN," Sensei yelled.

And just that quickly, I had an idea.

"Shenme, Mingzi," I said at normal volume, and began to walk forward.

After a moment of hesitation, I heard the two of them behind me, the grass crunching lightly under their feet.

When I was a couple yards away from Sensei, I bowed and said, "Megumi-sensei, may I please have a bell?" and extended my hand, palm up to accept it.

Sensei started, and stared down at me in surprise. "Uhm… no?" she said in confusion.

I straitened back up and shrugged at her. "Sad."

Suddenly, there was a war-like cry beside me, and I glanced over to see Shenme, a kunai in hand, launch herself forward, staying low to the ground as she advanced on our leader. When Shenme was close enough to hit, Megumi-sensei raised her arm, two fingers extended, and at the same time, Mingzi tapped my shoulder.

The next few events were a bit blurred in my memory; I crouched low, letting Mingzi jump over my head, using my shoulder as a springboard for her left foot, kunai drawn as well. I yanked my own out of my pouch and raced forward to back up my teammates.

We knew that one of us was not going home as what we had been that morning, but either way, we were fighting this battle together.

Megumi-sensei's arm came down, striking Mingzi over the head and sending her into the ground. Mingzi was in the air, kunai drawn as if she was going to stab Sensei, but she stepped back slightly as Mingzi came down, her arms lowered with both hands wrapped around the handle of the kunai. Sensei wrapped her hand around Mingzi's wrist and held it still as she said, "HEY! You girls aren't trying to kill me here! You just need the bell!"

While she spoke, I had circled around behind her, and now I kicked her in the back, sending her into Mingzi, who embraced her, trying to hold her still so Shenme, who had recovered from her face plant, could grab a bell.

However, before Shenme could grab it, Sensei kicked Mingzi in the shin, causing her to release her hold around Sensei's waist and she pushed Mingzi back with her elbows, breaking her hold and turned to the side to deal with Shenme.

I jumped forward, my hand extended towards the bells she held in her hand, but she spun around, grabbed my wrist, and sent me through the air. I landed with an "oof!" on my back on the ground, the breath knocked out of me.

It took me a second to regain my composure, during which time I heard a cry of victory from Mingzi, whose foot then landed beside my head.

"Oops," she said, staring at her empty palm, then her eyes focused on me. "Sorry, Akina."

"S'oka-"

"GUYS!!!" Shenme yelled from a couple feet away where she was locking in combat with Sensei.

"Right," Mingzi muttered, and ran forward, aiming a punch at Megumi-sensei's head. I ran beside her, planning to go for Sensei's legs

It went on like this, for what seemed like hours. Eventually, all of us were panting except Megumi-sensei, who was practically bouncing from foot to foot.

"C'mon, girls! You can't be worn out yet! Its not even," she looked at her watch, then back at us, humor in her eyes. "Nine."

"NINE!!!" we shouted together. We had arrived here around seven. This meant we had been going at it for only about two hours.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, placing a hand on her hip and finally standing still. She leaned forward in front of Shenme, and Mingzi and I watched in horror as she extended her hand in front of Shenme's face. With a quick jerk of her wrist, she rang the bells just above her nose, between her eyes.

Shenme glanced at Megumi-sensei's face then back at the bells and her eyebrows drew together with a frustrated air.

"I thought you three WANTED to be Genin," Sensei taunted.

Suddenly, the tension in that field became too intense, even the silence itself appeared to be solid.

How good at shattering silences Mingzi was, but this time she stayed quiet. Instead, she stared at Shenme, as if expecting some sort of explosion, some great show of strength or skill. It seemed, though, that Shenme was going to let her down; she did not move at all, didn't even seem to breathe. She simply stared at the bells as if they were some sort of evil she had to eliminate in the world, but had no idea how to do so.

Which meant it was my turn to make the next move.

I lunged forward without a sound, because there was not one I felt was befitting to the situation. My eyes were zeroed in on the bells, and suddenly, everything began to slow down. This was not an adrenaline rush. In fact, it felt as if all the energy suddenly left my body, and I was flying, parallel to the ground, through the air.

And then, before I could even really register my course had changed, I hit the ground with a heavy thud to my right side, and I shut my eyes tight with the impact.

I had only lain there a few moments when I heard Mingzi cry with victory once again. Digging my elbow into the ground for support, and slowly raised my slightly dizzy head to see Mingzi, the bell clutched in her high-held hand. I pressed my tongue into my cheek, annoyed; it seemed she had waited until I was within a few feet of Sensei and knocked me from the air to get her hands on a bell.

Now she held it in her greedy palm, what would have been mine. I repressed the wave of jealousy in my gut, while I realized she had sacrificed me to achieve that victory. Somehow, that didn't seem like the best policy to live by as a shinobi. But who was I to judge? She had a bell, and I did not. That made her better than me, at least for the moment, no matter how she had achieved that status.

The match continued after I had picked myself up from the ground and Mingzi retreated to the edge of the field to watch, shooting the bento boxes a couple longing glances as well.

Finally, Shenme and I got our own chance.

Shenme flew back through the air on the opposite side of our Sensei after a failed kick to her head, and, without even glancing at me, she ran back at Megumi-sensei. I ran as well, at a loss to do anything else. Sensei glanced at each of us, then sighed. She extended her hand that held the last bell out, putting Shenme and I on a crash course with the bell at the center. Then, at the last moment, she jumped back, throwing the bell up in the air. Shenme and I both jumped for it at the exact same moment, while Mingzi and Sensei watched us; Mingzi with her hands clasped together and her mouth hanging open, and Sensei with a blank expression and arms crossed.

* * *

**A/N:** _I'm sort of a cliff hanger person. And I'm really no good with fight scenes. I see them in my head, all nice and actiony, but I try to write them and... this is the result. . I shall keep trying, though. Tell me what you thought?  
Last thing, I had around ten people veiw the first chapter and I got exactly zero reviews. ;.; That kinda hurt. Now I'm not a reveiwing person myself, so I HATE to ask, but... pretty please??? O.O -- *supposed to be sweet, innocent eyes*  
Love as Always,  
ANIRA_


	4. National Pride Kinda Stings

**Chapter 3; National Pride**

_IreallyhatethetitleofthisstorybecauseitsreallyannoyingtotypeoutonfilesandocumentsandIalwaysgetconfusedwhenitypetheapreviation(YTIAA)*sigh*anditsreallyclicheandsoundslikealovestoryandthere'sNOTEVENANYROMANCE_

_If you could read that, you are immensly talented, and deserve a coke. But I don't have one, because I'm at school, even though I REALLY want one, so... sorry about that. ;.;_

* * *

**'Let her have it,' I thought. Even as my feet left the ground, and my arm reached for the shiny little object that seemed to float in the air. 'LET her HAVE IT' I screamed at myself, at my body, but I still moved towards the bell, I still kept reaching for it.**

**And my hand closed around it something.**

**Something else clamped over my hand.**

**Suddenly, the moment of floating silence was finished, and my feet hit the ground with a shocking thud that raced up through my knees with a painful jolt.**

**Shenme and I stared at each other, not with hostility, but with shock.**

**Shenme had reached the bell first, then my hand had closed around hers, and her other hand around mine.**

**Suddenly everything was happening quickly; Shenme removed her hand from mine, and, I, while still registering what had happened, stupidly left my hand around hers. Then Megumi-sensei was upon us, placing her hand over ours as Mingzi watched from her side of the field, standing on her toes and flailing around to get a good view.**

**"You're going to have to fight for it," sensei muttered. "A tie breaker is in order, I think."**

**Shenme nodded, but she was still staring at me, as if she was expecting something.**

**I can't really say I got the message, but I can say in some far away place in my mind, I knew what was right. So I did the cheesy, noble thing.**

**"No…" I said shaking my head. I looked up at Megumi-sensei to find her glaring at me, and I instinctively shrunk away from her harsh gaze. "S-she can…" I gulped. "Have it…" I withdrew my hand to justify my statement. "Yeah, she can have it," I said more firmly when I was a sufficient distance away from Megumi-sensei and her liable possibility of glaring and Shenme's look of disbelief. The look that appeared almost… staged.**

**You probably get what Shenme is thinking, but for some reason, I never did.**

**Then again, you could be as oblivious as me.**

**This is your wake-up call; SHENME IS NOT HAPPY WITH ME.**

**It was silent for a moment, and I felt the nerves on my fingers itching as if I had run them across a rough cloth. It could have been just me, but it seemed there were A LOT of awkward silences today.**

**"I-" I tried eventually, but as soon as I opened my mouth, Sensei spoke up.**

**"Why?" she asked me.**

**I refused to look up as I spoke. "I… She deserves it more than I… do."**

**I heard the rustle of grass and a slight tapping as she moved her foot in impatience. "And what, pray tell, caused you to arrive at this conclusion?"**

**I bit my lip, thinking back to the kunai pressed against my jugular and resisted the urge to clutch my throat. "She's been here… She's lived in this village all her life. And I just… sort of dropped in, and…" I was struggling for words now, so I paused to think, but instead, I ended up losing my courage on the subject all together. I pressed my lips together, wishing to weld them shut if that would stop the intense stupidity I was feeling for what I had just said.**

**"Then what your saying is…" Megumi-sensei began. "You think you cheated."**

**I jerked my head up in surprise at her words, to find her looking down at me with an amused glimmer in her eyes. "Well, no. I do-"**

**"AHAHAHAHAHA!!!" she exclaimed patting my head with rather rough, very exaggerated movements causing me to jump a foot or so in the air and get my head whacked a bit harder then I would have if I had stayed still.**

**"YOU'RE TOO MODEST, AKINA-CHAN!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!"**

**"I fail to see what is so funny," Shenme muttered, crossing her arms so the bell jingled gently as it hung from her finger, almost un-hearable over Sensei's frighteningly loud laughter.**

**"Oh, but you don't have to, Shenme!" Sensei exclaimed happily. "In fact, I don't expect you to!"**

**I saw something then, something I was probably not supposed to see.**

**Megumi-sensei looked almost… frightened all of the sudden when her eyes connected with Shenme's. I saw her tense, her fingers clench and her face flush white in the unmistakable presence of fear.**

**Just as soon as I spotted it, it was gone, and the next second, I began to doubt I had seen anything at all. A Jounin, scared of a Genin? Unthinkable… impossible… and yet…**

**"WELL," Sensei said, eyeing Mingzi, who stood across the field from us. When she heard that incredibly loud "well", though, she began running towards us with an excited look on her fair-skinned face.**

**"DO I… GET TO.. EAT NOW?!?!"**

**"Yeah, yeah," Megumi-sensei said, waving nonchalantly at Mingzi. She turned her back on us, heading for the side of the field where she had left the boxes.**

**"But wait!" Shenme yelled. "So… I graduate to Genin right? And she…" she glanced at me and stopped midsentence. She didn't have to say it though; I understood what would happen when I choose to release the bell. I was not going to graduate to Genin. I would go back to the school and retake the classes that I had never taken in the first place. But that ws okay. I had no memory of learning the things I knew. It wouldn't hurt to get a refresher, right? It might even jog my memory. Help me remember something important. Like my village… or my name…**

**Of course, deep down I was slightly disappointed. I was excited to start missions; the way people talked about them seemed somewhat glamorous in a way. It sounded like fun. But I was sacrificing for a teammate. That was a good virtue to have as a ninja, wasn't it?**

**"Hmm?" Sensei asked, spinning around to face Shenme head on with her intense blue eyes. "Of course you graduate. Baka…" She turned back around, and added, just as an after-thought. "And so does Akina-san."**

**"WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Shenme roared. We stared at her. Except for Sensei, who's back was so tense she might as well have been staring in amazement like Mingzi and I were.**

**"Well, yeah," she said.**

**"You can't do that! Only two of us ca-"**

**"I can do that," Sensei said quietly, then shot a glare over her shoulder at Shenme. "And I will. You'd do well to remember who is the Sensei here and who is the student."**

**Shenme bit her lip, sufficiently silenced.**

**"You two," she nodded to Mingzi and I. "Can go eat. You," she glared at Shenme. "Will still graduate, but will not receive a box."**

**Shenme said nothing; she glowered at Sensei.**

**I glanced at Mingzi, who was looking with interest at a blade of grass she was twirling between her fingers, then at Sensei, who was turning back around, walking to the left of the boxes, as if to leave the field.**

**"As soon as you eat, you're dismissed."**

**I was not really paying much attention to myself, while I watched Sensei walk away, so it was a shock to me when Mingzi hooked arms with me and I realized, with a start, I was moving.**

**She didn't say anything, and neither did I, sensing the reason for her lack of speaking, but when we were a good distance from Shenme, who honestly looked kind of murderous, she spoke up;**

**"Shenme-chan isn't happy."**

**"Think it has something to do with the bento boxes?"**

**"No…" Mingzi glanced at me. I only saw it out of the corner of my eye, since I was keeping my eyes trained on the boxes buried in the grass. "I think it has something to do with… you."**

**"Me? Why are you telling me this?"**

**"Because," she glanced to her other side, looking away from me. "I've never seen Shenme act like this before. It's… scary, for me."**

**"Scary…" I muttered, rolling the word off my tongue.**

**"We've been friends since… we first entered school."**

**"How long is that?"**

**Mingzi stared at me for a moment before answering, "About…seven years."**

**"That's the majority of your life."**

**"Yeah…" Mingzi said.**

**By this point, we had reached the boxes at the edge of the field. Neither of us risked a glance at Shenme as we lowered ourselves to the ground. Mingzi hugged her knees to her chest and seeming to fold in on herself, and I bucking my own knees so I looked, or at least felt, like I was collapsing in on myself, and crossed my knees under me. If we had risked a glance at Shenme, we would have seen she was on the other side of the field now, braiding grass together frivolously, with a slightly detectable** **furiousity, and staring up into the clouds.**

**"I don't…" Mingzi started suddenly, but she closed her eyes and broke off suddenly. Her lips turned white from being pressed together, and I could almost see the definitions of her characteristically smooth neck stand out. Mingzi was more stressed than I would have guessed.**

**"I don't mean to… **_**scare**_ **you but, I don't want… you to be totally unaware… of any harmful intentions Shenme ma-"**

**"Because of a **_**bell**_**?" I asked, leaning forward to grab a box and start on it; I wasn't that hungry, but it would give me something to do with my hands.**

**"No, no, no," Mingzi shook her hands in front of her frantically and I stopped opening the box to look at her. "She… doesn't like you. She wouldn't tell me why, or… anything for that matter. I don't un-" She gulped. "I don't understand her anymore. I'm sorry…."**

**"Its fine, Mingzi. Its not your fault. I just… I r**_**eally**_** don't want people to hate me."**

**"You're a foreigner," she stated, resting her chin on her knees. "it's sort of inevitable that some people will hate you."**

**"I guess…" I said**

**"I just wanted to make sure you knew to… watch out for Shenme."**

**"She doesn't scare me," she growled. "She can't hurt me."**

**I felt Mingzi stare at me. She kept staring, and for all I cared she could. She was underestimating me and it drew up some sort of intense anger in me that swelled in my chest, threatening to burst and flow out through my mouth to burn the grass around me.**

**Shenme wasn't going to threaten to kill me, like Sensei. Shenme wasn't going to hold a kunai to my throat.**

**Or maybe she would…**

**What did I actually even know about these people? About anyone here? What justified my trust in them? And their lack of trust in me? Sure I was foreign; big deal. Too much national pride is not always a good thing, especially in this case.**

**"Akina-chan, I don't think you u-"**

**"I understand perfectly," I said, rising to my feet and leaving the bento box on the ground. "You think I'm weak. You think I cant defend myself."**

**"No! No its no-"**

**"I don't care, Mingzi-**_**chan**_**," I said scornfully. "I don't know much about you, and you don't know much about me." **_**'Not that I exactly do either,' **_**I thought sullenly of the hole where the memory of my name should be and sighed somewhere inside myself. But outside, I was not in the mood to sigh, not by a long shot. "To make the assumption in such a case, is of the upmost inconsideration, Mingzi-san."**

**"I didn't **_**mean**_**-"**

**"Whatever Mingzi-san." I kicked the bento box over so it laid on its top, the contents untouched. "Give this to Shenme. I don't want it."**

**And, so, I walked home alone, through the teeming streets of Konoha, not really thinking, and not really seeing the things and people around me. I didn't even see "my" house when I stood in front of it, and just kept walking.**

**It was stupid, but… Mingzi's words really hurt me.**

**Did I look weak? Did I seem weak to everyone else? Is this what people thought of me? Then, the most pressing question; WAS I weak? I didn't know the answer, and that hurt me even more. It sort of felt like wounds that had just been cleaned and wrapped in pristine white gauze has suddenly been reopened. And here I was to deal with it.**

**Alone.**

* * *

_THAT IS SUCH A DEPRESSING ENDING ISN'T IT?! I hate the cliche's that I write all the time. Oh well...  
I know its Febuary and I know I haven't posted a chapter since uh... December and if anyone is following this story, I'M REALLY SORRY. I'm kind of really lazy... If anyone is just passing through, REVIEW!!! Or I will buldger you over the head with the coke can I do not have. ;.;  
With Love,  
Anira_


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